Farmed seaweed food ingredient 'can be recipe for a healthier UK'
High-fibre additive made from kelp passes taste, texture, and manufacturing tests
A fibre-rich seaweed product that has the potential to improve the UK’s health can be integrated into breads, muffins, and plant-based meats without compromising on taste, texture, or manufacturing efficiency, new research shows.
Edinburgh-based seaweed technology innovator BioMara, UK ingredient supplier Macphie, and scientists at Dundee's Abertay University completed the landmark project under the Innovate UK’s multi-million-pound ‘Better Food for All’ programme.
The focus of the project was Seafibrex, BioMara’s functional food ingredient derived from farmed seaweed. Produced using BioMara’s proprietary extraction process, Seafibrex is said to deliver a unique combination of fibres, antioxidants, bioavailable minerals, and complex carbohydrates designed to improve the nutritional profile of everyday foods and promote population-level health improvements.
According to BioMara, only 9% of UK adults currently meet the recommended daily intake of 30g of fibre. The national average remains around 19g, unchanged in over ten years. This persistent shortfall is said to be a key contributor to rising rates of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and colon cancer. Seafibrex was developed specifically to close this gap by providing a simple, scalable way to enhance fibre intake through familiar foods.
“This is a timely and valuable initiative aimed at improving the nation’s health without asking people to give up the foods they love,” said Paul McKnight, research and development manager at Aberdeenshire-based Macphie.
“The programme has shown that seaweed-based ingredients like Seafibrex can be incorporated into our product lines without sacrificing taste or quality. We’re also seeing growing demand from our customers for innovative functional ingredient solutions from reliable local suppliers that align with wellness and sustainability trends.”
Key achievements
The project delivered three key achievements:
1. BioMara developed a proprietary extraction process to produce Seafibrex. It says the result is a cost-competitive, clean-label ingredient that enhances the nutritional profile of food while enhancing flavour, texture and consumer appeal.
2. Macphie successfully incorporated Seafibrex into core bakery formulations at its industrial-scale facilities. Trials demonstrated that Seafibrex performed well in production and met the quality standards expected by commercial bakery partners.
3. Abertay University conducted consumer sensory evaluations in its state-of-the-art labs, confirming that Seafibrex-enhanced products were well received in terms of taste, texture, and mouthfeel, even in demanding categories like plant-based meat and baked goods.
UK 'nutrition crisis'
“The UK faces a nutrition crisis, with fast and convenience foods dominating diets and driving chronic disease,” said Jay Dignan, chief executive of BioMara. “Seafibrex offers a breakthrough solution as a functional ingredient that can help by making nutritious food more accessible, without requiring consumers to change their habits. It’s affordable, sustainable, and scientifically proven.”
BioMara said growing demand for seaweed-based ingredients strengthens the UK’s emerging seaweed farming sector, supports local economies, and builds resilient coastal communities.
With process and product validation complete, it is scaling up production and actively forming new partnerships with forward-thinking food manufacturers and bakery brands looking to lead the way in functional, sustainable nutrition.
Fucoidan
Along with Seafibrex, BioMara extracts fucoidan, a protective long chain sulphated polysaccharide found in various species of seaweed. This maximises the value of seaweed by isolating multiple healthy products from the same input biomass.
Fucoidan is utilised in a range of therapeutic health care preparations, being incorporated as high value ingredients in nutritional, medical device, skincare and dermatological products.
Archaeological digs in Chile have uncovered evidence of the use of fucoidan-containing seaweeds dating to circa 12,000 BC, although fucoidan itself was not isolated and described until the early 1900s.
Around 90% of the seaweed BioMara uses is farmed and 10% wild harvested, and the company is working with a number of partners on pilot projects using UK farmed seaweed, along with a smaller R&D project looking at wild harvested seaweed.
